


grace requires nothing of me

by tikii



Category: Castle Swimmer (Webcomic)
Genre: Affection, Character Study, Cuddling, Fluff, Great song, Growth, How Do I Tag, Hugs, Kinda, M/M, Mild Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, supportive bfs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-22 08:25:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20871173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tikii/pseuds/tikii
Summary: in which kappa learns, grows, and is in love





	grace requires nothing of me

**Author's Note:**

> hello !!! so like its only been five (5) days and i already miss my sons so that means i Probably have a problem(tm) but its Fine i had a really fun time writing this !!  
my tumblr mutual , @/ryan-says-hi , and i were talking and they had this amazing idea about kappa gradually becoming more confident with his hugs and becoming ' bigger ' as a person and i Cry every time so like  
i made this !! in two days flat !! and im actually kind of Really proud of this so enjoy !!!

The first time Siren hugged him was when Kappa had gotten out of that damn prison cell. Both of them were overjoyed and just embraced one another happily. Kappa, feeling the burning eyes of the two queens on them (he… he wasn’t sure if they were like everyone else - only there to admire him and no one else), shrunk slightly into the embrace, half trying to hide and half wanting to just… feel Siren. 

He didn’t realize how compressed he had become until Siren pulled away slowly. Kappa found himself straightening up a  _ lot  _ and looking the two queens in the eye, a bright grin on his face. He was finally out of that stupid prison cell! The faster he got out of here, the faster he could stop inconveniencing Siren and the faster he could hide in some coral reef with his fish friends. 

(He… he didn’t want to leave Siren, though.)

The second time Siren hugged him it could hardly be considered a hug -

Well, unless you consider a ‘hug’ someone lying limply in someone else’s arms. 

Kappa didn’t know whether to scream, cry, hold on, let go - he didn’t know what to do. He ended up curling into Siren’s chest with a whimper, holding onto the shark prince tightly, trying to will this entire situation - the blood, the crowd, the screams of the queen, the scar - to just go away. 

Of course, it didn’t.

So he made himself tinier, clutching onto Siren, unable to find his voice.

And then he was taken away from Siren - the one person who ever showed him compassion and understanding. 

( _ Don’t take me away from him, please, please, please, please I-) _

_ (I love him.) _

The third time Siren hugged him was in the healer’s den, in which Kappa was wearing this oversized disguise (better to make himself smaller with - he could just shrink into the fabric) and Siren had all these lumpy bandages and cotton on his wound. Kappa curled into the embrace, scrunching his shoulders up to his ears and curling his tail in.

(He didn’t know if he was trying to make himself smaller, or just fit as much of himself into the warmth as he possibly could.) 

This was possibly the last time he could see Siren in a while - a saddening thought, but a promise was sealed with a kiss and Kappa couldn’t have asked for more. All he could do was leave Siren to choose for himself - then they would meet down the road somewhere. 

(Just… a couple of more seconds of warmth before he left. Just a couple.)

It was sort of a miracle that Siren and Kappa met up as soon as they did. Kappa had just finished another prophecy (the kingdom was very nice! And so were the mermaids in it!) and was making his way out, but… a familiar shade of blue caught his attention. Kappa raised an eyebrow and turned his eyes, only for his heart to stop in the next couple of seconds.

“Siren!” He couldn’t help but gasp the prince’s name - it was a natural reaction.

Siren turned around, his eyes wide with confusion, but a big grin spread across his face when his eyes fell upon the shimmering figure of the beacon. “Kappa!” He swam forward and engulfed Kappa in a tight hug. Kappa let out a rather hysterical laugh and curled into the embrace, once again trying to make himself as small as possible. Siren must have picked up on that particular habit of his because Siren moved to cradle his head gently and held Kappa closer to his chest. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too. Are you okay? How’s your back?” Kappa fretted, pulling away from the embrace momentarily to inspect Siren. The prince gave a small laugh and leaned down boldly to plant a kiss on Kappa’s cheek. 

“Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

Kappa’s face flushed bright red as he let out a small sigh of relief. “Okay, good. I was, uh… just finished, here, actually.”

“Alright - lead the way.”

“What?” Kappa blinked. 

“Yeah! If, uh… you don’t mind, I’d like to stick with you for a while. Everything is so… new to me.” Siren looked around with an excited glimmer in his eyes. “And I would… uh… like to experience it with someone that… I…”

Kappa raised an eyebrow in confusion. “You don’t have to finish-”

“Someone I love! There - I said it!” Siren pouted adorably, the water around him seeming to bubble and boil due to the heat coming off his face. Kappa gave a small giggle and grabbed Siren’s hand.

“Well then - what are we waiting for? Let’s get a move on then, shall we?”

“After you, oh mighty beacon-”

“Oh, shush!” 

(That was the fourth time Siren hugged him, and Kappa hoped it wouldn’t be the last.)

After that moment, the two were practically inseparable. Kappa showed Siren all of the sea creatures and places he missed while in the castle, and in turn, Siren showed Kappa how to… be bigger, in a sense. How to be more confident and stand stronger;

“You’re just so… pretty??” Siren had babbled one night in a little panic, throwing his hands up. “And important and just overall amazing? You shouldn’t hide! The world needs to know who  _ Kappa  _ is - not who the Beacon is. And everyone will know who Kappa is - I’m sure of it!” Siren grinned at Kappa, who was trying his best  _ not  _ to cry at that very moment in time. 

He… he always wanted to be small and hidden so that he didn’t get that much attention - he got enough attention for his liking. Everyone everywhere always saw him as a tool and not a regular person and it always bothered Kappa. It just… sucked being known as someone who could be manipulated to do something for others. 

Siren… Siren helped him find a voice. Siren said that it was okay for Kappa to live for himself and not just for others like he was ‘meant’ to.    
  


Siren made him… bigger. Bolder. 

_ (God I… I love him so much.) _

The best part about traveling together was whenever Kappa was pulled to a prophecy. He used to hate it, but now, it was probably the funniest thing he’d experienced. The prophecy’s pull made him go fast; it yanked him in whichever direction without any warning and it would practically teleport him to where the prophecy needed to be fulfilled. Now - sharks were fast. Siren prided himself on being fast. He just… couldn’t seem to catch up with Kappa whenever the prophecy yanked him to the side. The first time it happened, Siren actually  _ screamed  _ and tried to grab onto Kappa, but Kappa was already  _ gone.  _

In the middle of the prophecy being explained, Siren had burst in, out of breath and panicked, wheezing about how  _ he never wanted that to happen again  _ and about how he  _ needed a warning next time. _

The prophecy was never got fully explained because Kappa was laughing too hard after that. 

He had felt so… embarrassed after that. He had never interrupted someone in the middle of explaining their prophecy - it was disrespectful! The king of the kingdom didn’t seem to mind, though, which was a relief -

(Since when had Kappa become so bold? When did that happen?) 

After the whole ‘prophecy’ thing was over (it went better than Kappa expected), Siren apologized:

“Sorry for the interruption, Kap. I just, y’ know - got nervous.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“N-no! Don’t apologize. I needed a good laugh - I promise it was pretty funny.” Kappa grinned. 

“Is my panic a joke to you?” Siren pouted, dramatically crossing his arms over his chest. Kappa laughed and leaned forward, pecking Siren lightly on the cheek. 

“Don’t be so dramatic, Si. You know I don’t ‘find your panic funny’.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Siren rolled his eyes playfully and wrapped an arm around Kappa. Instinctively, Kappa shrunk back, curling into Siren’s side. Siren pressed a small kiss onto Kappa’s forehead. “We should get going.” 

(Kappa wanted to curl up against Siren’s side for as long as he possibly could - the warmth made him feel whole. Bigger.)

(Maybe… maybe he didn’t have to curl in anymore.) 

(Maybe.) 

There were some times where… not only did Kappa want to be small, he  _ felt  _ small. He was only one person, in the midst of so many… responsibilities that he didn’t even want. He couldn’t do all of them - he didn’t even want to do all of them.

He always felt so small.

At first, he wouldn’t tell Siren anything about how he was feeling. Siren had his burdens to think about - why bother him even more? 

But Siren made him… better. A fuller, better person. So, eventually, Kappa would open up. Say one or two things about it - let Siren engulf him in warmth and love. 

And it felt nice - it felt normal.

(Kappa felt… whole.)

“Si, hurry up! There are more things to see around here!” Kappa hissed at the prince, who was still yawning and waking up. “Come on! Chop chop!”

“Mm… shhh… let me just-” Siren wobbled slightly and wrapped his arms around Kappa, let out a contented sigh. Kappa laughed and hugged Siren back, practically nuzzling his chest in return.

(Siren’s chest was so… broad, Kappa noticed. Would it be okay… would it be okay if he…)

Kappa puffed his chest out a little bit, trying to wrap his arms around Siren as much as he possibly could - trying to stretch out to the warmth as much as he possibly could. Siren didn’t say anything, which gave Kappa the signal that he didn’t notice. With a small smile, Kappa leaned up and kissed Siren on the cheek.

“Let’s go, lazybones.”

“‘M not lazy,” Siren mumbled in reply, but let go anyway. 

(... stretching out felt nice. There was more warmth to find when he stretched out.)

(There was… also a sense of confidence that came with that. Kappa needed all the confidence he could get.) 

Eventually, Kappa found himself feeling… bigger. Bolder. He found himself initiating more contact, speaking up for himself more and… well, performing prophecies with more confidence. 

(He knew how to say ‘no’ now, too. Getting away from the prophecy was a little bit hard, but he found out how to do it. He would always have Siren to help him out.)

“It feels nice to relax for once,” Siren said, relaxing on a little bed of seaweed. Kappa snickered and came to settle down next to him, grabbing onto his hand.

“You’re right, Si - relaxing is hardly ever an option for us, is it?”

Siren hummed in reply. Kappa smiled to himself and rolled over, slinging an arm around Siren’s waist. In return, Siren brought his arms up and wrapped them around Kappa gently. 

They stayed like that for a while, just… enjoying each other’s warmth.

And then a realization struck Kappa. All the puzzle pieces were put together, everything aligned perfectly - he finally saw the bigger picture. 

He wasn’t curling his tail in, he wasn’t hunching his shoulders into his ears - he wasn’t purposefully trying to be smaller. He blinked, eyes flickering up to look at Siren’s.

Siren was… looking at him as if he was the world - as if he was everything. 

Kappa could feel his cheeks heat up and he averted his gaze shyly, Then, another realization struck him, this one more jarring than the last.

Siren made him feel like he was larger than the world itself.

Kappa smiled and leaned up, pecking Siren’s lips. He then looked down and closed his eyes, mumbling a small ‘thank you’ against his chest. Siren blinked, a little confused as to what Kappa was thanking him for, but whatever Kappa was thanking him for must have been important to him.

Siren knew better than to question.

Instead, Siren whispered an ‘I love you’ in reply, pressing his lips to Kappa’s hair.

And it was in that moment, right then, where Kappa felt larger than the Surface God Themselves. 

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed !!


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